A French hostage held in Nigeria managed to escape on Saturday while his captors, Islamist militants from the Ansaru group, were praying. Francis Collomp, 63, is due to brought home to Paris by Frances Foreign minister later on Sunday.

French hostage Francis Collomp, 63, escaped his captors in Nigeria, the office of President François Hollande said in a statement on Sunday.

Collomp had been held since being abducted by the Ansaru Islamist group on December 19, 2012.

FRANCE 24s correspondent in Nigeria, Aminu Abubacar, reported that there were no military operation involved and that Collomp managed to escape entirely on his own.

According to the police commissioner, he escaped yesterday. The commissioner told me that Francis Collomp was held for nine months in Kano. Two months ago he was taken to Zaria, about two hours away, where he was kept in a house ( ) Yesterday [his captors] forgot to lock his cell, and while they were praying, he slipped out and ran, said FRANCE 24s Abubacar from northern Nigeria.

Nigerian Police commissioner Olufemi Adenaike told Reuters that Collomp took a motorcycle taxi to reach the nearest police station. "We handed him over to the French embassy this morning," Adenaike added.

This story might be fishy. France has taken a lot of criticism for paying millions in ransom to Islamic terrorists over the last few years. The way this story was released would lead one to suspect that ransom was paid and escape 'arranged'.

Ah, I see.
My understanding is that the French have a long, ignoble history of appeasing the jihad. If I recall correctly they gave the various Palestinian terror groups free passage back in the 70’s in exchange for no attacks on French soil.

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